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Rally protests Army hospital's decision to stop delivering babies

Some nurses, staffers and residents on Tuesday protested Keller Army Community Hospital's decision to no longer deliver babies over a lack of resources.

A hospital spokesperson says they don't have enough anesthesiologists and perioperative nurses, which has caused them to temporarily divert patients.

Many patients walked straight to the West Point gate with a petition of 1,300 signatures asking for those resources. Some said they also need the convenience of a nearby hospital.

The hospital delivers more than 100 babies each year, and the announcement left some expecting mothers scrambling to change plans.

"At the meeting they told everybody they were going to close, and we were going to have to find new providers midway through pregnancy," says military spouse Nicole Alexander.

A spokesperson for Assemblyman James Skoufis, who represents the area, says he contacted the hospital to raise concerns. The spokesperson says the hospital reassured him that labor and delivery services could return as early as this fall.